While there are plenty of exterior touches that can improve your curb appeal, making a real difference in the aesthetic and even the value of your home, it’s always important to consider those more practical changes, as well. As such, here, we’re going to look at some changes that go beyond the aesthetic, resulting in meaningful improvements for your home and how you use it.
Landscaping
While it might just seem like another aesthetic transformation for your home’s exterior, and it can be to some degree, landscaping also offers a lot of potential to make meaningful upgrades to your home life, as well. For instance, a better-structured garden with raised beds and clear partitions can make it a lot easier to maintain, meaning you don’t have to spend as much time outdoors taking care of it. Adding the right plants, such as bushes, hedges, or even small trees, can also add a degree of privacy to your home, as well.
Exterior Lighting
Another upgrade that has an aesthetic appeal but also a much deeper benefit to your home, exterior lighting has plenty of functional applications. For instance, well-placed lights are better able to illuminate pathways, driveways, and steps, decreasing the risk of slips and falls while allowing for better navigation. They also work as a security feature, as well-lit exteriors tend to dissuade would-be criminals who are more likely to look for homes where they might not be as spotted easily. The warmth and inviting appeal that exterior lighting adds to your home is a genuine benefit, but it offers so much more than that.
An Upgraded Front Door
As the main entry point of the home, the front door is a clear focal point and standout aesthetic feature for the home. However, it can also play a major role in factors such as security and energy efficiency. A front door replacement can help you replace an older, draughtier model that might be letting in the cold during the winter. Security features like reinforced frames and powerful locks can also make your home a lot more secure, which can be a major consideration if you live in an area that might be targeted more frequently by burglars, like many high-end neighbourhoods are.
Exterior Cladding
Adding exterior cladding onto your home is an easy way to transform its whole aesthetic from the outdoors, allowing you to add the look of timber, bricks, or modern, sleek composite without having to do too much to the wall beneath it. However, cladding also offers a lot of protection for the home beneath, shielding the actual walls from the effects of the weather, while also improving insulation so your home is better able to retain heat in the winter. It can generally decrease how much maintenance your home’s exterior requires, too.
As overlooked as the exterior can be, it’s important to occasionally think about what you can do to improve it. Often, those upgrades can go more than skin deep, representing a real quality of life improvement for you and your family.
